The 2nd Grade Chick

I haven't posted in awhile so I thought I would post a math center idea, especially since I have recently hit 50 followers!! Yay!  Here are 10 math things to do with old calendars. You can: 1. Count along with the numbers 2. Play number bingo--(as a math station you can record yourself calling numbers) 3. Write the numbers in each square (it is great to the have the model there) 4. Use a marker to make that many dots in the square 5.  Cut them apart and glue them on a sentence strip (could make it into a headband) 6.  Cut them apart, give each child one number and then make them put themselves in number order 7.   Cover up a number and play guess the number with a partner 8.  Roll and color that many squares until you get to the end 9.  Skipping counting, count and circle by 2s, 5s, 10s 10.  Make tally marks in each square according to the number there Time to start asking parents for their 2010 calendars!!!

So in the quest to be the best teacher I can possibly be + all these GREAT ideas from pinterest I am running ragged.  Anyone else??????? Last week I kind of hit rock bottom and figured out why I've been stressed all on the same night.  I couldn't figure out why I was more stressed out this year than the last two years.  I was going to school, completing my Master's the last two years for crying out loud!  If I could handle that I could handle anything? Right?  Wrong!! So with my newfound time I decided I was going to do more around the house.  I had some great goals such as vacuuming and picking up every day, doing laundry every day etc., etc.  I'm also trying to tweak things at school, improve math, be more creative etc., etc.  So what did I do?  I denied myself facebook and blog time (AKA me time!)  Then it hit me.  The last two years when I was in class I got to escape my crazy teacher mom life for one whole weekend and traded it in for intelligent discussions with

We had a fun filled weekend traveling to my alma mater where my hubby and I met to watch his cousin play football.  Not only did we meet here but his parents met there, and his brother and wife went there as well.  So graduating from UNI is a family tradition.  We began another family tradition of heading back to watch a football game once a year, or so we hope.  Here are a few pictures of our fun filled weekend.  Me and my fam :) 6 UNI grads And they behaved! I had to get a picture of the colorguard for memories sake. Cousins!  Still behaving. :) Until you ask the little one to take a picture with her scary football player cousin. :)

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6825095016459251468#editor/target=post;postID=8348636798925613510 Does anyone else have trouble getting their children to clean their room??  Do they give you empty promises?  Buy me a bunk bed puhleeeeease, I PROMISE I will clean my room everyday.  Yeah, I fell for that one and we reorganized the room while we were at it.  In March of this year it looked like this...  I've pleaded.  I've nagged.  I've cleaned it. I've cried.  I should take a picture of it now but the girls are sleeping.  Maybe tomorrow, but I am hoping tomorrow it won't look messy because I have plan.  My laundry list, found here, is helping me so much in the laundry room that I am hoping my  clean your room list, found here, will help oldest daughter, M.  I will frame it and then she will put a post-it flag on the frame after she completes it.  She will need to have everything flagged to get her allowance for the week.  I will let you know ho